Notification controls for online collaboration platform

ABSTRACT

In an example embodiment, an online advertising management platform maintains an account that includes data relating to an order for advertising provided by an ad network affiliated with the platform. When the platform receives a login that identifies a user as having access rights to the account, the platform displays a view that includes a window displaying data relating to the order and a toolbar in a standardized location relative to the window. The toolbar includes a tab that displays a count of each informational message (e.g., alert or tip) which relates to the displayed data and which has not been dismissed by the current user. When the user clicks on the tab, the platform displays a tabbed window that includes a list of the informational messages, regardless of whether an informational message on the list has been read or dismissed by another user allowed access to the account.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______(YAHOP068) entitled “Utility Toolbar for Online Collaboration Platform”,U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______ (YAHOP070) entitled “WindowOverlay for Online Collaboration Platform”, U.S. patent application Ser.No. ______ (YAHOP071) entitled “Facilitated Search for OnlineCollaboration Platform”, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______(YAHOP072) entitled “Searching by Object Category for OnlineCollaboration Platform”, filed contemporaneously with this application.The disclosures of these related applications are hereby incorporatedherein by reference.

BACKGROUND

Collaboration platforms are an emerging category of computer software.Typically, such platforms offer a set of software components andservices that enable individuals to find each other and the informationthat they need to be able to communicate and work together to achieve acommon business goal. In some implementations, the elements of acollaboration platform which are domain-agnostic might include messaging(e.g., emails, calendaring and scheduling, and contacts), teamcollaboration (e.g., file synchronization, task/project management, andfull-text search), social computing tools (e.g., wiki, blog, tagging,RSS, and shared bookmarks), and real-time communication (e.g., presence,instant messaging, application/desktop sharing, and audio/video/webconferencing). Online implementations of collaboration platforms mightbe colloquially referred to as Enterprise 2.0, by analogy to Web 2.0.

A portal has designed an online collaboration platform in theadvertising domain. The platform is called an advertising managementplatform and it can include an ad network, an ad server, an ad exchange,enterprise CRM functionality (e.g., for target marketing and accountmanagement), and enterprise DSS (decision support system) functionality(e.g., a digital dashboard), among other components. An ad network is agroup of sites that a portal or a media company can sell collectively toan advertiser. An ad network might sell text ads, display ads, videoads, ads in video, or other advertising inventory. Publishers use an adserver to decide which ads to show and to help manage their advertisinginventory, while advertisers and agencies use an ad server to simplifythe ad-reporting process. In an ad exchange, buyers and sellers tradeadvertising inventory in an online central market in real time, like ina stock exchange. Networks put advertising inventory into the adexchange to be bought, most often by another seller, who needs theimpressions to fulfill an advertiser request. Through the ad exchange,buyers can gain access to a pool of inventory that might not have beenavailable through any one vendor.

The workflows in such a platform tend to be complex, since they requirea large amount of human-computer interaction from users assuming myriadroles with varying access rights to the data maintained by the platform.Consequently, there is a need for a graphical user interface (e.g., amodel-view-controller) that employs personalization and/orcontextualization to facilitate the efficient and effective use of theplatform.

SUMMARY

In an example embodiment, a computer-implemented method is described foran online advertising management platform. In the method's firstoperation, the platform receives a login that identifies a user as auser allowed access to an account maintained by the platform. Theaccount includes data relating to an order for advertising provided byan ad network affiliated with the platform. In the method's secondoperation, the platform displays a view in a graphical user interfaceincluding a window displaying some or all of the data relating to theorder. In the method's third operation, the platform displays a toolbarin a standardized location relative to the window. The toolbar includesa labeled tab and a notification balloon indicating that there is aninformational message which the user has not read, if the user has notread each informational message. In the method's fourth operation, theplatform displays a tabbed window after the user clicks the labeled tab.The tabbed window includes an ordered list of each informational messagewhich relates to the displayed data and which has not been dismissed bythe user. The ordered list visually emphasizes each informationalmessage which the user has not read, regardless of whether theinformational message has been read or dismissed by another user allowedaccess to the account.

In another example embodiment, a computer-implemented method isdescribed for an online advertising management platform. In the method'sfirst operation, the platform receives a login that identifies a user asa user allowed access to an account maintained by the platform. Theaccount includes data relating to an order for advertising provided byan ad network affiliated with the platform. In the method's secondoperation, the platform displays a view in a graphical user interfaceincluding a window displaying some or all of the data relating to theorder. In the method's third operation, the platform displays a toolbarin a standardized location relative to the window. The toolbar includesa labeled tab. The labeled tab displays a count of each informationalmessage which relates to the displayed data and which has not beendismissed by the user. In the method's fourth operation, the platformdisplays above the labeled tab, for a fixed time period, a balloonindicating that there is an informational message which the user has notread, if the user has not read each informational message. In themethod's fifth operation, the platform displays a tabbed window afterthe user clicks the labeled tab. The tabbed window includes an orderedlist of each informational message which relates to the displayed dataand which has not been dismissed by the user. The ordered list visuallyemphasizes each informational message which the user has not read,regardless of whether the informational message has been read ordismissed by another user allowed access to the account.

In another example embodiment, persistent executable logic is describedfor an online advertising management platform. The executable logicreceives a login that identifies a user as a user allowed access to anaccount maintained by the platform. The account includes data relatingto an order for advertising provided by an ad network affiliated withthe platform. The executable logic displays a view in a graphical userinterface including a window displaying some or all of the data relatingto the order. The executable logic displays a toolbar in a standardizedlocation relative to the window. The toolbar includes a labeled tab. Thelabeled tab displays a count of each informational message which relatesto the displayed data and which has not been dismissed by the user. Theexecutable logic displays above the labeled tab, for a fixed timeperiod, a balloon indicating that there is an informational messagewhich the user has not read, if the user has not read each informationalmessage. The executable logic displays a tabbed window after the userclicks the labeled tab. The tabbed window includes an ordered list ofeach informational message which relates to the displayed data and whichhas not been dismissed by the user. The ordered list visually emphasizeseach informational message which the user has not read, regardless ofwhether the informational message has been read or dismissed by anotheruser allowed access to the account.

Other aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent fromthe following detailed description, taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, which illustrates by way of example theprinciples of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a simplified network diagram for an online advertisingmanagement platform, in accordance with an example embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a digital dashboard with a utility toolbar for an onlineadvertising management platform, in accordance with an exampleembodiment.

FIG. 3 is a view with order data and a utility toolbar showing anotification balloon for alerts, in accordance with an exampleembodiment.

FIG. 4 is a view with order data and a utility toolbar showing a list ofalerts, in accordance with an example embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a view with order data and a utility toolbar showing a tip, inaccordance with an example embodiment.

FIGS. 6A and 6B are views showing the affect of dismissal of an alert bya particular user, in accordance with an example embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a view with order data and a utility toolbar showing a combobox with data objects relevant to the characters of a search term, inaccordance with an example embodiment.

FIGS. 8 a and 8 b are a view with a combo box for searching and arelated page with search results, respectively, in accordance with anexample embodiment.

FIGS. 9 a and 9 b are pages with search results and entry boxes relatedto an object category, in accordance with an example embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a simplified flowchart diagram illustrating a process forlisting informational messages that have not been dismissed by aparticular user, in accordance with an example embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a simplified flowchart diagram illustrating a process fornotifying a particular user of his/her unread informational messages, inaccordance with an example embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a simplified flowchart diagram illustrating a process foroverlaying a list of informational messages that have not been dismissedby a particular user, in accordance with an example embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a simplified flowchart diagram illustrating a process fordisplaying a combo box of objects relevant to the characters of a searchterm entered by a user, in accordance with an example embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a simplified flowchart diagram illustrating a process fordisplaying a page of search results with entry boxes related to anobject category, in accordance with an example embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth inorder to provide a thorough understanding of the exemplary embodiments.However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the exampleembodiments may be practiced without some of these specific details. Inother instances, process operations and implementation details have notbeen described in detail, if already well known.

In a use case for the online advertising management platform, anewspaper with both print and online publications might be a member ofthe advertising network associated with the platform. An accountrepresentative for the newspaper (e.g., Joe Smith of SG Newspaper) mightmanage the advertising campaigns for several of the newspaper'sadvertising clients, by regularly logging onto the platform as a user.Additionally, a sales representative for the newspaper (e.g., DinaJoseph of SG Newspaper) might track the progress of a campaign for anadvertising client, by occasionally logging onto the platform as a user.It will be appreciated that the advertising campaign might involveonline display advertising in the online edition of the newspaper (e.g.,graphics-heavy banners and column ads), display advertising in the printedition of the newspaper, contextual (or search) advertising on theresults page for the portal's search engine, display advertising on thewebsite of another member of the advertising network, etc.

FIG. 1 is a simplified network diagram for an online advertisingmanagement platform, in accordance with an example embodiment. As shownin FIG. 1, client device 101 accesses server 103 through a wide areanetwork (WAN) such as the Internet 102. In an example embodiment, clientdevice 101 might be a laptop computer (shown), a desktop computer, acellular phone, a smart phone, a wireless handheld device, a personaldigital assistant (PDA), or any other access device which is capable ofconnecting to a network through an application program (e.g., a webbrowser). Server 103 might be a general-purpose computer that is one ofa number of servers (or nodes) in a distributed computing system such asa cluster. In an example embodiment, server 103 might be a web serverrunning LAMP (Linux Apache MySQL PHP) or some similar software solutionstack and the advertising management platform might comprise a webapplication program employing HTML, XML, JavaScript, etc. As depicted inFIG. 1, server 103 is connected to a persistent storage system (e.g., adisk array, a storage area network or SAN, etc.) 104 which persistentlystores software (e.g., a library with code for “instant searching”) usedby an advertising management platform and executed by server 103.Persistent storage system 104 also stores data (e.g., objects in adatabase) used by the advertising management platform. In an exampleembodiment, client device 101 might also store in memory and/orpersistent storage (e.g., hard disk) some of the data and some of thesoftware (e.g., AJAX code, a browser toolbar add-on, or other clientapplication program) used by the advertising management platform. Thatis, the advertising management platform might consist of numerous code(or encoded logic) modules, some of which execute on client device 101and some of which execute on server 103, using data stored on the clientside (e.g., client 101) and/or on the server side (e.g., server 103 andpersistent storage system 104).

FIG. 2 is a digital dashboard with a utility toolbar for an onlineadvertising management platform, in accordance with an exampleembodiment. In an example embodiment, an account manager (e.g., JoeSmith of SG Newspaper) or a sales representative (e.g., Dina Joseph ofSG Newspaper) might see digital dashboard 200 after logging onto theplatform. The platform will only display the digital dashboard 200 tothose users who have the right to access it, pursuant to the policiesgoverning the platform. As indicated by link label 201, each user of thedigital dashboard 200 has a profile which a user can use to customize(or personalize) the views displayed by the platform's graphical userinterfaces (GUIs), including the digital dashboard 200, within theconfines of the user's access rights. Digital dashboard 200 includes autility toolbar 202 which is located in a standardized location (e.g.,in the upper right corner) in each platform GUI displaying the toolbar202, in order to facilitate learning and use of the platform by users.In turn, the toolbar 202 includes standardized controls comprisingassociated with a button labeled “Search”, a tabbed window labeled“Alerts”, and a tabbed window labeled “Helps & Tips”. In an exampleembodiment, the “Search” textbox might enable searches within theplatform for data objects (e.g., document files, graphics files, etc.)that are accessible by the user. An “Alert” might be an informationalmessage pertaining to an exception within the context of the GUI (e.g.,dashboard or view) which is displaying the toolbar 202, as explainedbelow. A “Tip” might be a recommended action or practice within thecontext of the GUI (e.g., dashboard or view) which is displaying thetoolbar 202, as explained below.

Digital dashboard 202 includes a horizontal bar 203 which lists someobject categories frequently used by the platform: (a) Orders for anaccount, which will be discussed below; (b) Creatives (e.g., a graphicsfile); (c) Inventory (e.g., advertising space in an online newspaper);(d) Connections (e.g., between data objects and their attributes); (e)Filters (e.g., for use in searches within the platform); (f) Community(e.g., for exchange of user-group information); and (g) Settings (e.g.,for configuration of external interfaces such as GUIs). In an exampleembodiment, digital dashboard 202 includes a pane 204 containing summaryaccounting information in the form of Gross Revenue from ordersaccessible by the user (e.g., $1,222,333.00), the Cost from all ordersaccessible by the user (e.g., $1,200,333.00), and the resulting Profit(e.g., $22,000.00), as a function of time (e.g., Last Week and ThisWeek).

Digital dashboard 202 also includes a pane 205 which shows a listsummarizing all “Alerts” and “Approvals” relating to orders accessibleby the user and a tabbed window labeled “View All Alerts” that allowsthe user to view each of the alerts accessible by the user rather thanjust summaries of those alerts. In an example embodiment, digitaldashboard 202 includes two additional views. Pane 207 includesperformance measures such as ePRM or effective revenues per millenniumor 1000 page views, impressions, clicks, CTR or click-through rate, andconversions, relating to the advertising network of which the user'spublisher (e.g., newspaper) is a member. Pane 208 includes performancemeasures (e.g., net revenue and CTR) for the top advertisers among theclients of the user's publisher.

FIG. 3 is a view with order data and a utility toolbar showing anotification balloon for alerts, in accordance with an exampleembodiment. In an example embodiment, an account manager (e.g., JoeSmith of SG Newspaper) or a sales representative (e.g., Dina Joseph ofSG Newspaper) might see view 300 after clicking on the label “Orders” inthe digital dashboard and then clicking on an order from the list ofaccessible orders displayed by the platform. This sequence is capturedin the hierarchy shown in the horizontal bar 301, where the label“Orders” is followed by the label “Order: ABC Energy Summer Campaign”.View 300 also includes a utility toolbar 202 which is located in thestandardized location (e.g., the upper right corner). In view 300, thetoolbar 202 includes a tabbed window 302 labeled “Alerts (3)”, whose tabis connected to a balloon 303 that states: “You have unread alerts.” Inan example embodiment, the alerts in tabbed window 302 might relate tothe order data shown elsewhere in view 300, e.g., in pane 305, entryboxes 306, and pane 307. The alerts relate to matters involving theplatform's model/content, not matters involving the user interface.Thus, for example, an alert might indicate that an ad for the order waseditorially declined or that an ad group for the order wasunderperforming by not serving enough impressions. It will beappreciated that an ad group might be a set of ads and related keywordsthat are defined for a specific campaign, in this context.

The number in the tab (e.g., 3) for tabbed window 302 indicates thenumber of alerts that have not been dismissed by the user who is loggedin, regardless of whether the alerts have been previously dismissed byanother user who has access to the order. In this manner, the platformfacilitates asynchronous collaboration by a team of users, e.g., apublisher's employees and agents. In an example embodiment, the platformdoes not automatically dismiss an alert that has been read, so that thenumber in the tab will not change if the user reads an alert but doesnot dismiss the alert. However, the platform will not display anotification balloon 303 if all alerts have been read by the currentuser.

Also, in an example embodiment, the balloon 303 is displayed for a fixedperiod of time whose duration is proportional to the priority of thehighest priority alert that has not been read by the user who is loggedin. Building on the example above, a balloon might be displayed forseven seconds if it concerned an ad that was editorially declined,whereas a balloon might be displayed for only five seconds if itconcerned an ad group that was underperforming by not serving enoughimpressions.

In view 300, the toolbar 202 includes a tabbed window 304 labeled “Help& Tips (1)”. The number in the tab (e.g., 1) for tabbed window 304indicates the number of tips that have not been read by the user who islogged in, regardless of whether the tips have been previously read byanother user who has access to the order. In an example embodiment, theplatform might automatically dismiss a tip once it has been read, e.g.,opened. In an alternative example embodiment, the platform might allow auser to dismiss a tip using GUI views and controls similar to those thatallow a user to dismiss an alert, as described elsewhere. A tip mightrecommend an action or practice to improve the performance of theorder's advertising. Tabbed window 304 might also provide a link labelto the platform's online help, which might comprise help with respect toboth substantive (e.g., workflow) and technical (e.g., user interface)matters.

As mentioned above, view 300 also includes pane 305, entry boxes 306,and pane 307. In an example embodiment, pane 305 might include “OrderDetails” such as the status of the order (e.g., active), the schedulefor the order (12/01/2007-01/31/2008), and the budget for the order(e.g., $20,000 with $2,000 available), as well as the sales team andcontacts for the order. Entry boxes 306 allow a user to create a filterfor viewing data related to an order. In FIG. 3, the user has created afilter that shows the performance for an order based on the order's adgroups for a particular time period (e.g., the last 14 days:11/14/07-11/30/07). Also, as shown in FIG. 3, view 300 allows a user tosave a filter that the user has created and use it at a subsequent time.In this regard, see the dropdown list labeled “Choose a Filter” and thelabeled button “More Filters”. Pane 307 in FIG. 3 shows the results ofapplying the filter shown in entry boxes 306 to the data relating to anorder. Pane 307 includes a table showing particular performancestatistics (e.g., impressions, clicks, CTR, eCPC or estimated cost perclick, and eCPM or cost per thousand impressions) for particular adgroups (e.g., “Sports—Males”, “End of Year Females”, “End of YearVideo”, etc.).

FIG. 4 is a view with order data and a utility toolbar showing a list ofalerts, in accordance with an example embodiment. In an exampleembodiment, the platform might display view 400 when a user clicks ontab 401, which includes a label “Alerts (3)” indicating that thisparticular user has three alerts which he/she has not read. View 400includes a tabbed window 402 which displays a numbered list showing acreation date and a summary for each alert. Each summary is depictedwith typographical emphasis in the form of boldface to indicate that thealert has not been read (e.g., opened) by this particular user. It willbe appreciated that other sorts of typographical emphasis, such asitalics or a different background color might be used in alternativeexample embodiments. As indicated by the label 403, “Sort by”, at thetop of tabbed window 402, the platform allows the user to sort thealerts by priority or recentness (e.g., most recent date of creationfirst). In example embodiments, priority might be determined by urgencywith respect to time or by significance with respect to dollar amount inabsolute or relative terms.

Below each alert displayed in the list in tabbed window 402, is ahorizontal menu 404 which allows the user to: (a) read more about thealert, e.g., the details of the alert, as opposed to simply the alert'ssummary; (b) take action with respect to the alert, e.g., by removingoffensive text or imagery from an ad that was editorially declined; or(c) dismiss the alert. Next to each message in the list in tabbed window402 is a warning sign 405 (e.g., an exclamation mark in a triangle),whose color might communicate additional information about the alert, inan example embodiment. For example, in the list in window 402, messages1 and 2 might have a warning sign that is red to indicate that aworkflow is not proceeding per plan (e.g., “Order[ABC_Energy_Summer_Campaign] has these undelivered ads[Summer_Energy_(—)468x60, Summer_Pow_(—)125x125]” and “Ad[ABC_Summer_POW_gif] has been suspended”, respectively), whereas message3 might have a warning sign that is black to indicate a milestone in aworkflow relating to an order (e.g., “Order [ABC_Energy_Summer_Campaign]has started”). It will be appreciated that ABC_Summer_POW_gif might be acreative in the form of a display ad implemented in the GIF (GraphicsInterchange Format) file format, whereas Summer_Energy_(—)468x60 andSummer_Pow_(—)125x125 might be display ads implemented in a bitmapformat, in an example embodiment.

At the bottom of list in tabbed window 402 is a link label 406 thatallows a user to go to a global alert page which lists all of alertsthat the user is allowed to access, regardless of the order to whicheach of the alerts relates. It will be appreciated that the alertslisted in the list in tabbed window 402 are context-dependent and relateto the order data displayed outside the boundaries of tabbed window 402,e.g., the order data for the ABC Energy Summer Campaign. It will also beappreciated that the platform locates tabbed window 402 contiguous tothe utility toolbar in view 400 so that tabbed window 402 does notcompletely obstruct the displayed order data for the ABC Energy SummerCampaign, allowing a user to see and work with both the order data andthe list in tabbed window 402 at the same time.

FIG. 5 is a view with order data and a utility toolbar showing a tip, inaccordance with an example embodiment. In an example embodiment, theplatform might display view 500 when a user clicks on tab 501, whichincludes a label “Help & Tips (1)” indicating that this particular userhas one tip. A summary of the tip is shown in a numbered list in tabbedwindow 502: “Increase exposure and ROI by scheduling non-guaranteedinventory.” Above the tip displayed in the list in tabbed window 502 isa link label 503 (“Visit our Help Center”) that allows the user to go toa global help center for the platform, which might include online helpfor both substantive (e.g., workflow) and technical (e.g., userinterface) questions, in an example embodiment. In an alternativeexample embodiment, the platform might also display a link label to aglobal tips center for the platform, which provides informationregarding recommended actions or practices, rather than online help.Below the tip displayed in the list in tabbed window 502 is a link label504 which allows the user to learn more about the tip, e.g., the detailsof the tip, as opposed to simply the tip's summary, in a dialog box thatthe platform displays if the user clicks on the link label. In analternative example embodiment, if the user clicks on the link label504, the platform might display a page feature cue that comprises asmall descriptive dialog box with an arrow pointing to particularinformation (e.g., order data) in view 500. It will be appreciated thatthe tips listed in the list are context-dependent and relate to theorder data shown outside the boundaries of the list in tabbed window502, e.g., the order data for the ABC Energy Summer Campaign. It willalso be appreciated that the platform locates tabbed window 502contiguous to the utility toolbar in view 500 so that tabbed window 502does not completely obstruct the displayed order data for the ABC EnergySummer Campaign, allowing a user to see and work with both the orderdata and the list in tabbed window 502 at the same time.

FIGS. 6A and 6B are views showing the affect of dismissal of an alert bya particular user, in accordance with an example embodiment. FIG. 6Ashows a view 600 which includes a tabbed window 601 indicating that theplatform has three alerts (e.g., “Alerts (3)” and “Showing 1-3 alertsfor this page.”) relating to the order identified as the ABC EnergySummer Campaign for the current user 602, namely, joe_smith. However,the tabbed window 601 displays (e.g., by creation date and summary) alist of only two alerts, indicating that this user has dismissed theother alert. In an example embodiment, if this user were to log out, logback in, and then navigate to the order for ABC Energy Summer Campaign,the tabbed window 601 would indicate that the user has only two alerts.FIG. 6B shows the same view 600 following the log in of a subsequentuser 613, namely, dina_joseph, who also has access rights to the datafor the order identified as the ABC Energy Summer Campaign. Since thesubsequent user has not dismissed any alerts, the labeled tab 612 showsthat there are still three alerts for this user. Similarly, thenotification balloon 611 indicates that this user has unread alerts.

FIG. 7 is a view with order data and a utility toolbar showing a combobox with data objects relevant to the characters of a search term, inaccordance with an example embodiment. As described earlier, a user withaccess rights might see view 700 after clicking on the label “Orders” inthe digital dashboard and then clicking on an order from the list ofaccessible orders displayed by the platform. This sequence is capturedin the hierarchy shown in the horizontal bar 701, where the label“Orders” is followed by the label “Order: Toyota Holidays”. View 700also includes a utility toolbar which is located in the standardizedlocation (e.g., the upper right corner) and contains the standardizedcontrols. In view 700, the toolbar includes a combo box 703 with atextbox 702 where a user might enter the characters of a search term.The combo box 703 includes a link label 704 which a user can click on tonavigate to a view that enables advanced search.

In an example embodiment, a user might enter a fixed number ofcharacters from a search term into textbox 702. Then the platform mightdisplay a list of data objects which are relevant to the characters incombo box 703. The list might include a description of each relevantdata object maintained (e.g., persistently stored) by the platform,along with the data object's object category. For example, as shown inFIG. 7, if the user enters “toyota” into textbox 702, the platform mightdisplay “toyota ad male 01.08” in combo box 703, among other dataobjects. As might be guessed, the object category for “toyota ad male01.08” is an “ad”. If the user clicks on the object, the platform mightdisplay the ad itself, rather than a page with search results. In anexample embodiment, other searchable object categories might includeorders, users, accounts, creatives, ads, linked companies, sites, lineitems, ad groups, rate cards, reports, and approvals.

In an example embodiment, the platform might store the data objects in aserver accessed through AJAX techniques and launch a search for dataobjects after the user has enter the fixed number of characters, e.g.,3, 4, 5, etc. The platform might conduct a new search of the server eachtime the user enters another search-term character, in order to generatea list of increasing relevancy. It will be appreciated that AJAX(asynchronous JavaScript and XML) is a set of interrelated webdevelopment techniques used for creating interactive web applicationprograms. Using these techniques, a web application program can retrievedata from a server asynchronously in the background without interferingwith the display and behavior of the page that is currently displayed.Typically, a web application retrieves data from a server using theXMLHttpRequest API (application programming interface) or through theuse of Remote Scripting in browsers that do not support that API.Despite the acronym AJAX, the use of JavaScript, XML, and asynchrony isnot required in all AJAX implementations. It will also be appreciatedthat the data objects are data objects used in the platform, not priorsearch terms or queries, as might be the case in a web application suchas Yahoo! Search's Instant Search. However, in an example embodiment,the platform might use a library based on Instant Search in order topopulate the list of data objects displayed by combo box 703.

In an example embodiment, the platform locates combo box 703 contiguousto the utility toolbar in view 700 so that combo box 703 does notcompletely obstruct the displayed order data for Toyota Holidays,allowing a user to see and work with both the order data and the list ofdata objects in the combo box 703 at the same time. However, the dataobjects on that list might not relate to the order data, but insteadrelate to other orders and/or accounts to which the user has access.

FIGS. 8 a and 8 b are a view with a combo box for searching and arelated page with search results, respectively, in accordance with anexample embodiment. For the most part, view 800 in FIG. 8 a is similarto view 700 shown in FIG. 7. View 800 includes a utility toolbar withcombo box 801 which has a textbox 802 where a user might enter thecharacters of a search term, e.g., “pea”. The combo box 801 includes alist of each data object which is maintained by the platform and whichis relevant to the search term, along with an object category for thedata object. For example, the list in combo box 801 includes thefollowing data objects: (a) data object 803 which is described as“peabody incorporated” and whose object category is “account”; (b) dataobject 804 which is also described as “peabody incorporated” and whoseobject category is “linked partner”; and (c) data object 805 which isdescribed as “peanut03” and whose object category is “user”.

FIG. 8 b shows a page of search results which the platform might displayif the user launches a search (e.g., by clicking a button labeled“Search”) on the search term “pea”. Page 810 includes a textbox 811which reproduces the search term (e.g., “pea”) and list 812 of dataobjects that are maintained by the platform and that are relevant to thesearch term. In an example embodiment, list 812 groups data objects byobject category for purposes of display. Thus, “peabody incorporated”appears as a data object in the group 813 for the object category“Linked Partners”. A data object described as “peabody incorporated”also appears in the group 814 for the object category “Accounts”. A dataobject described as “peanut03” appears in the group 815 for the objectcategory “Users”. It will be appreciated that these three data objectsalso appeared on the list included in combo box 801 in FIG. 8 a. Page810 also includes a list box 816 that allows a user to select an objectcategory for further searching. The object category shown in list box816 is “All Categories”, which is the default value that is displayed inlist box 816 after a user launches a search (e.g., clicks the buttonlabeled “Search) on a search term entered in textbox 802.

FIG. 9 a is a page with search results and entry boxes related to anobject category, in accordance with an example embodiment. The platformmight display page 900 in FIG. 9 a after the user selects a new objectcategory in list box 816 shown in FIG. 8 b. Page 900 includes textbox901, with a search term “Toyota”, and a list box 902 which lists theobject categories of data objects maintained by the platform. In FIG. 9a, “Orders” is the object category previously selected by the user andreproduced in list box 902. In an example embodiment, the selectedobject category determines the search results displayed in list 906 andthe attributes of some of the entry boxes, e.g., 903, 904, and 905. Forexample, when the object category is “Orders”, the platform mightdisplay: (a) a list 906 of data objects comprised of orders; (b) anentry box 903 for the “Advertiser Name”; (c) an entry box 904 for the“Sales rep”; and (d) an entry box 905 for the “Order id”. It will beappreciated that such entry boxes might not be appropriate for an objectcategory such as “Ads”. In an example embodiment, Page 900 might alsoinclude entry boxes for status (e.g., Active) and for date rangesrelated to the creation date and last modification date of a dataobject, as well as entry boxes for the creator and last modifier of adata object, as is also shown in FIG. 9 a.

On page 900, the user has entered a value of “Proctor & Gamble” in entrybox 903, a value of “Jones” in entry box 904, and a value of “342343566”in entry box 905. If the user then clicks the button labeled “Search” onpage 900, the platform returns and displays search results that areorders relevant to the search term (e.g., “Toyota”) which meet therestrictions created by the entered values in entry boxes 903, 904, and905, e.g., the advertiser is Proctor & Gamble, the sales rep is Jones,and the order id is 342343566. It will be appreciated that such arestricted search ordinarily requires the use of an additional pagededicated to displaying entry boxes for a generalized advanced search.

FIG. 9 b is another page with search results and entry boxes related toan object category, in accordance with an example embodiment. Hereagain, the platform might display page 910 in FIG. 9 b after the userselects a new object category in list box 816 shown in FIG. 8 b. Page910 includes textbox 911, with a search term “Toyota”, and a list box912 which lists the object categories of data objects maintained by theplatform. In FIG. 9 b, “Ads” is the object category previously selectedby the user and reproduced in list box 912. In an example embodiment,the selected object category determines the search results displayed inlist 916 and the attributes of some of the entry boxes, e.g., 913, 914,and 915. For example, when the object category is “Ads”, the platformmight display: (a) a list 916 of data objects comprised of ads; (b) anentry box 913 for “Editorial” searching based on the content (e.g.,text) in an ad, which requires further input (e.g., a string ofcharacters) by the user as indicated by the ellipsis (e.g., “Select . .. ”); (c) an entry box 914 for the “Ad Size” (e.g., for a display ad);and (d) an entry box for “Format”. It will be appreciated that suchentry boxes might not be appropriate for an object category such as“Orders”. In an example embodiment, Page 910 might also include entryboxes for status (e.g., Active) and for date ranges related to thecreation date and last modification date of a data object, as well asentry boxes for the creator and last modifier of a data object, as isalso shown in FIG. 9 b.

On page 910, the user has entered a value of “300×250” in entry box 914and a value of “Rich Media” in entry box 915. If the user then clicksthe button labeled “Search” on page 910, the platform returns anddisplays search results that are ads relevant to the search term (e.g.,“Toyota”) which meet the restrictions created by the entered values inentry boxes 914 and 915, e.g., the ad size is 300×250 and the format isrich media. Here again, it will be appreciated that such a restrictedsearch ordinarily requires the use of an additional page dedicated todisplaying entry boxes for a generalized advanced search.

FIG. 10 is a simplified flowchart diagram illustrating a process forlisting informational messages that have not been dismissed by aparticular user, in accordance with an example embodiment. In theprocess's first operation 1001, the platform receives a login thatidentifies a user (e.g., account manager Joe Smith in the use caseabove) as having access rights to an account which has an order foradvertising. In the next operation 1002, the platform displays a viewwith the order's data and a standardized (e.g., with respect to locationand controls) toolbar with a tab showing a count of the informationalmessages (e.g., alerts or tips) that relate to the order's data and thathave not been dismissed by that user. In operation 1003, the platformdisplays a tabbed window with a list of informational messages that havenot been dismissed by that user, when the user clicks on the tab. Thenthe platform receives a command from the user to open a particularinformational message. In operation 1004, the platform displays theinformational message and then receives a command from the userdismissing the message.

The process continues in operation 1005, where the platform receives alogin that identifies a subsequent user (e.g., sales representative DinaJoseph in the use case above) as having access rights to same account.In operation 1006, the platform displays a view with the order's dataand the standardized toolbar with a tab showing a count of theinformational messages that relate to the order's data and that have notbeen dismissed by the subsequent user, as opposed to the prior user.Then in operation 1007, the platform displays a tabbed window with alist of informational messages including the particular informationalmessage dismissed by the prior user, when the subsequent user clicks onthe tab. As suggested earlier, this process facilitates asynchronouscollaboration by a team of users.

FIG. 11 is a simplified flowchart diagram illustrating a process fornotifying a particular user of his/her unread informational messages, inaccordance with an example embodiment. In the process's first operation1101, the platform receives a login that identifies a user as havingaccess rights to an account which has an order for advertising. In thenext operation 1102, the platform displays a view with the order's dataand a standardized toolbar with a tab showing a count of theinformational messages that relate to the order's data and that have notbeen dismissed by that user. Then in operation 1103, if the user has anunread informational message, the platform displays a notificationballoon above the tab for a fixed period of time based on the priorityof the message, regardless of whether the informational message has beenread or dismissed by a prior user.

FIG. 12 is a simplified flowchart diagram illustrating a process foroverlaying a list of informational messages that have not been dismissedby a particular user, in accordance with an example embodiment. In theprocess's first operation 1201, the platform receives a login thatidentifies a user as having access rights to an account which has anorder for advertising. In the next operation 1202, the platform displaysa view with the order's data and a standardized toolbar with a tab forinformational messages that relate to the order's data and that have notbeen dismissed by that user. In operation 1203, after the user clicks onthe tab, the platform displays a tabbed window (a) having a list ofinformational messages which have not been dismissed by the user andwhich are visually emphasized if unread by the user and (b) having acontrol that allows navigation to a view with informational messages forall of that user's accounts. In operation 1204, the platform locates thetabbed window contiguous to the toolbar so that the user can see boththe tabbed window and the order's data at same time. It will beappreciated that operations 1203 and 1204 take place simultaneously, inan example embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a simplified flowchart diagram illustrating a process fordisplaying a combo box of objects relevant to the characters of a searchterm entered by a user, in accordance with an example embodiment. In theprocess's first operation 1301, the platform receives a login thatidentifies a user as having access rights to an account which has anorder for advertising. In the next operation 1302, the platform displaysa view with the order's data and a standardized toolbar with a textboxthat allows the user to search all accounts accessible by the user.After the user enters a fixed number of characters (e.g., three), theplatform displays a combo box with a description of each accessible dataobject that is relevant to the entered characters, in operation 1303.Then, in operation 1304, if the user clicks on an object's descriptionin the list in the combo box, the platform displays the object, ratherthan a results page.

FIG. 14 is a simplified flowchart diagram illustrating a process fordisplaying a page of search results with entry boxes related to anobject category, in accordance with an example embodiment. In theprocess's first operation 1401, the platform receives a login thatidentifies a user as having access rights to an account which has anorder for advertising. In the next operation 1402, the platform displaysa view with the order's data and a standardized toolbar with a textboxthat allows the user to search all accounts accessible by the user. Inoperation 1403, after the user enters an initial search term in thetextbox and launches a search (e.g., clicks a button), the platformdisplays a results page having (a) a list of relevant (e.g., to thesearch term) and accessible data objects grouped by object category, and(b) a list box that allows the user to select an object category. Thenin operation 1404, after the user selects an object category, theplatform displays a results page having (a) having a list of eachrelevant and accessible data object within the selected object category,and (b) entry boxes relevant to the selected object category. Inoperation 1405, after the user enters one or more subsequent searchterms in the entry boxes (e.g., in the entry boxes that are relevant tothe selected object category) and launches a search, the platformdisplay a results page having a list of each accessible data objectwithin the selected object category that is relevant to the initial andthe subsequent search terms.

The invention may be practiced with other computer system configurationsincluding hand-held devices, microprocessor systems,microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics,minicomputers, mainframe computers and the like. The invention may alsobe practiced in distributing computing environments where tasks areperformed by remote processing devices that are linked through anetwork.

With the above embodiments in mind, it should be understood that theinvention may employ various computer-implemented operations involvingdata stored in computer systems. These operations are those requiringphysical manipulation of physical quantities. Usually, though notnecessarily, these quantities take the form of electrical or magneticsignals capable of being stored, transferred, combined, compared, andotherwise manipulated. Further, the manipulations performed are oftenreferred to in terms, such as producing, identifying, determining, orcomparing.

Any of the operations described herein that form part of the inventionare useful machine operations. The invention also relates to a device oran apparatus for performing these operations. The apparatus may bespecially constructed for the required purposes, such as the carriernetwork discussed above, or it may be a general purpose computerselectively activated or configured by a computer program stored in thecomputer. In particular, various general purpose machines may be usedwith computer programs written in accordance with the teachings herein,or it may be more convenient to construct a more specialized apparatusto perform the required operations.

The invention can also be embodied as computer readable code on acomputer readable medium. The computer readable medium is any datastorage device that can store data, which can thereafter be read by acomputer system. Examples of the computer readable medium include harddrives, network attached storage (NAS), read-only memory, random-accessmemory, CD-ROMs, CD-Rs, CD-RWs, DVDs, Flash, magnetic tapes, and otheroptical and non-optical data storage devices. The computer readablemedium can also be distributed over a network coupled computer systemsso that the computer readable code is stored and executed in adistributed fashion.

Although example embodiments of the invention have been described insome detail for purposes of clarity of understanding, it will beapparent that certain changes and modifications can be practiced withinthe scope of the following claims. For example, the utility toolbarmight be implemented as a browser toolbar add-on rather than as part ofthe platform itself. Accordingly, the present embodiments are to beconsidered as illustrative and not restrictive, and the invention is notto be limited to the details given herein, but may be modified withinthe scope and equivalents of the following claims. In the followingclaims, elements and/or steps do not imply any particular order ofoperation, unless explicitly stated in the claims or implicitly requiredby the specification and/or drawings.

1. Logic encoded in one or more tangible media for execution and whenexecuted operable to: receive a login that identifies a user as a userallowed access to an account maintained by an online advertisingmanagement platform, wherein the account comprises data relating to anorder for advertising provided by an ad network affiliated with theonline advertising management platform; display a view in a graphicaluser interface including a window displaying some or all of the datarelating to the order; display a toolbar in a standardized locationrelative to the window, wherein the toolbar further comprises a labeledtab and wherein the labeled tab displays a count of each informationalmessage which relates to the displayed data and which has not beendismissed by the user; display above the labeled tab, for a fixed timeperiod, a balloon indicating that there is an informational messagewhich the user has not read if the user has not read each informationalmessage; and display a tabbed window after the user clicks the labeledtab, wherein the tabbed window includes an ordered list of eachinformational message which relates to the displayed data and which hasnot been dismissed by the user and wherein the ordered list visuallyemphasizes each informational message which the user has not read,regardless of whether the informational message has been read ordismissed by another user allowed access to the account.
 2. The encodedlogic of claim 1, wherein each of the informational messages in the listis an alert that describes an exception to a regular workflow for theaccount.
 3. The encoded logic of claim 1, wherein each of theinformational messages in the list is a tip that describes a recommendedaction or practice for a workflow for the account.
 4. The encoded logicof claim 1, wherein the fixed period of time is proportional to thepriority of the highest priority informational message on the list. 5.The encoded logic of claim 4, wherein priority is determined by urgencywith respect to time
 6. The encoded logic of claim 4, wherein priorityis determined by significance with respect to dollar amount in absoluteor relative terms.
 7. The encoded logic of claim 1, wherein the list isordered on the basis of priority.
 8. The encoded logic of claim 1,wherein the list is ordered on the basis of recentness.
 9. The encodedlogic of claim 1, wherein the advertising comprises display advertising.10. The encoded logic of claim 1, wherein the advertising comprisesonline display advertising.
 11. A computer-implemented method,comprising: receiving a login that identifies a user as a user allowedaccess to an account maintained by an online advertising managementplatform, wherein the account comprises data relating to an order foradvertising provided by an ad network affiliated with the onlineadvertising management platform; displaying a view in a graphical userinterface including a window displaying some or all of the data relatingto the order; displaying a toolbar in a standardized location relativeto the window, wherein the toolbar further comprises a labeled tab andwherein the labeled tab displays a count of each informational messagewhich relates to the displayed data and which has not been dismissed bythe user; displaying above the labeled tab, for a fixed time period, aballoon indicating that there is an informational message which the userhas not read if the user has not read each informational message; anddisplaying a tabbed window after the user clicks the labeled tab,wherein the tabbed window includes an ordered list of each informationalmessage which relates to the displayed data and which has not beendismissed by the user and wherein the ordered list visually emphasizeseach informational message which the user has not read, regardless ofwhether the informational message has been read or dismissed by anotheruser allowed access to the account.
 12. The computer-implemented methodof claim 11, wherein each of the informational messages in the list isan alert that describes an exception to a regular workflow for theaccount.
 13. The computer-implemented method of claim 11, wherein eachof the informational messages in the list is a tip that describes arecommended action or practice for a workflow for the account.
 14. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 11, wherein the fixed period oftime is proportional to the priority of the highest priorityinformational message on the list.
 15. The computer-implemented methodof claim 14, wherein priority is determined by urgency with respect totime
 16. The computer-implemented method of claim 14, wherein priorityis determined by significance with respect to dollar amount in absoluteor relative terms.
 17. The computer-implemented method of claim 11,wherein the list is ordered on the basis of priority.
 18. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 11, wherein the list is ordered onthe basis of recentness.
 19. The computer-implemented method of claim11, wherein the advertising comprises online display advertising.
 20. Acomputer-implemented method, comprising: receiving a login thatidentifies a user as a user allowed access to an account maintained byan online advertising management platform, wherein the account comprisesdata relating to an order for advertising provided by an ad networkaffiliated with the online advertising management platform; displaying aview in a graphical user interface including a window displaying some orall of the data relating to the order; displaying a toolbar in astandardized location relative to the window, wherein the toolbarfurther comprises a labeled tab and a notification balloon indicatingthat there is an informational message which the user has not read ifthe user has not read each informational message; and displaying atabbed window after the user clicks the labeled tab, wherein the tabbedwindow includes an ordered list of each informational message whichrelates to the displayed data and which has not been dismissed by theuser and wherein the ordered list visually emphasizes each informationalmessage which the user has not read, regardless of whether theinformational message has been read or dismissed by another user allowedaccess to the account.